ZAMEER AHMAD SHEIKH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) DETEUUE Zameer Ahmad Sheikh S/o Ghulam Nabi Sheikh R/O Nowgam, Chadura, through his father Ghulam Nabi Sheikh has invoked the writ jurisdiction of this court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 103 of the State Constitution, wherein he has sought indulgence of this court for quashment of the detention order No. DMS/PSA/40 dated: 04 -01 -2002.

(2.) IT is inter -alia maintained in the petition that the detenue Zameer Ahmad Sheikh was arrested by police on 21 -11 -2001 and after keeping him in unlawful detention by the respondents for a period of one month, he came to be detained under the provisions of the J&K Public Safety Act in terms of impugned order issued by respondent No. 2; that the petitioner assails this detention order inter -alia on the grounds that he is an innocent person and has not committed any illegal or improper act, nor has ever carried out any subversive or disruptive activities in the valley of Kashmir, which could warrant his detention under the provisions of the J&K Public Safely Act; that in terms of letter No. DMS/PSA/234 -38 dated; 04 -01 -2002, the detenue was informed of his detention by respondent No. 2 and was also asked to make a representation to the Government, if he so desires; that the detenue accordingly submitted a representation through his father to the respondent No. 1, in which he has set up that the detenue is an innocent person and has denied the grounds of detention as groundless, and has also prayed that the detention order be revoked and he be set at liberty; that this representation of the detenue was received by respondent No. 1 on 18 -02 -2002, but till date it has not been considered and disposed of; that this non -consideration of the representation of the detenue vitiates the order of detention. The petitioner has further pleaded that the detention order is also bad on the ground that same has not been handed over to the detenue: that as per the detention order, the detenue was arrested on 21 -11 -2002 and some ammunition and arms were removed from him; that in so far as arrest of detenue on 21 -11 -2002 is concerned, it is admitted but it is denied that any arms and ammunition was recovered from him at the time of his arrest; that the respondents have booked the detenue under FIR No. 147/2001 registered by Police Station Shaheed Gunj, wherein he has not filed any application for bail, consequently there was no justification for detaining him under the provision of Public Safety Act; that there were no compelling reasons for detaining the detenue under the Act when he was already in the custody of the respondents; that the grounds of detention relied upon for detaining the detenue are vague, unreal, irrelevant, untrue and baseless: that the detenue has not been given the material or documents relied upon against him for his detention.

(3.) ON admission of the writ petition and after pulling the respondents on notice, the respondent No. 2, Abdul Humid, District Magistrate, Srinagar, has filed his counter affidavit, wherein he has controverted all the averments made in the petition, but with respect to filing of representation by the detenue before the Government, it is stated that in para (v) of the preliminary objections that the detenue did not file any representation for the reasons best known to him. In reply to clause (b) of the writ petition, it is stated that the representation filed by the detenue has been considered by the competent authority and on having been found no merit in the said representation, same came to be disposed/rejected.